According to Boyle’s agent, George Bazos, Boyle has expressed his desire to remain in San Jose and thinks he can be an effective player through the age of 40. That would suggest that Boyle, who turned 37 on July 12, is seeking a two or three-year extension. Bazos didn’t rule out that something could get done before the start of the season, but talks have not been extensive to this point.

On July 30, when asked about the status of Boyle, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, who are all pending unrestricted free agents in 2014, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said: “We don’t talk about negotiations publicly. Have we had discussions with [them]? Yes. Will we have discussions going forward? The answer is yes.”

Despite his advancing age, Boyle could still command a significant salary in the final years of his impressive career. Kimmo Timonen, a fairly similar player to Boyle in terms of age, stature, point production and responsibility, recently signed a one-year, $6 million extension with Philadelphia.

In the last four seasons, Timonen, who is a year older than Boyle at 38, has 148 points in 285 games, while Boyle has 176 points in 279 games. Neither player has missed significant time due to injury.

In 2013, each led his respective club in time-on-ice per game on the power play. Despite missing the playoffs, the Flyers had the league’s third best power play (21.6 percent), while the Sharks were seventh (20.1).

In 46 games in 2013, Boyle had seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points, and added eight points (3g, 5a) in 11 playoff games. His overall ice time was reduced from previous seasons, as Boyle was rarely used on the penalty kill in the second half of the shortened year. From 2006-07 through 2011-12, Boyle finished in the top 10 in the league in ice time in five of six seasons. In 2013, he finished 48th (22:47 per game).

According to CapGeek.com, the Sharks have $46.2 million committed to 14 players for 2014-15. That includes $6 million apiece for Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski, who each signed five-year, $30 million extensions over the summer.